The world is full of business authors, but not al understands how business is changing with consumer power. Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba are two that not only understand it but also can explain what it means for business. They do deliver this in there latest book: Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message. It is a book that will inspire a lot of people to engage consumers in there communication. The content of the book is especially good for advertising people and brands that not understand that the power has shifted. They will learn why 100 millions of consumers rather watch YouTube.com instead of there 100 million dollar commercial on television. There book goes deeply into why social media are important. The book is full with good cases like Threadless.com, because it is full of soul, heart and business points. I do love the name of chapter 6:

In a time when customization is growing faster than ever, its time to update the old model of: Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Did Google it today and did not find anything. I like to update USP to: Unique Selling Unique (USU).

I relations we search for the perfect match (two unique persons how become a couple). USU are a more private choice than buying a solution, USU needs to match YOU.

Consumers want to buy brands that are and make them unique. Internet is full of companies how provide uniqueness to consumers, here are a Swedish upcoming store Shirtstore.se (they guaranty that you are unique by only make around 50 T-Shirt of each design). Will GM give you the same guaranty that you are unique? Here are some unique cases on this blog: Adidas, GM, Zildjian, Fender etc. How USU are your brand? And how successful can it become with USU?

Everybody talks about charring information with your costumer. The purpose are often that companies want consumers to be engaged and loyal. Here is one of the most simple and best roadmaps I seen.

After the 2.1 release, we decided to adopt a regular release schedule every 3-4 months with the features primarily driven by ideas voted on by our users. WordPress.org

Take a look at WordPress roadmap it is done like stairs where consumers can start taken the steps they like to join the journey one (history, what’s coming and how its personal with your input). Start doing your own roadmap so that your costumers can ad value.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is the documentary film sensation that’s changing the largest company on earth. The film features the deeply personal stories and everyday lives of families and communities struggling to survive in a Wal-Mart world. Walmartmovie.com

I cannot say that this movie is a masterpiece, but if you watch the end there are a lot of victories they refer to. In this documentary they are interviewing a lot of priests, and they are nearly prayer for the American dream (a strong religious community where helping each other). How fare will Wal-Mart go before they start to listen? Well, after 9/11 did the owners according to the film build them self’s a nuclear bunker below the surface. I believe that it is the wrong country to threatening people’s dreams.

The situation can become ugly if they but more petrol arguments on there anti-fans. It was not so smart of Wal-Mart to sell millions of weapons to consumers then turn them into armed anti-fans.

I don’t hope that anything will happen but, anti-fans can dig deep even into a nuclear bunker, a specially if there American dream is threatening. The question is how fare is the anit-fans willing to go? If Wal-Mart started to listen can they become be even more successful? The film can be search for on Google Video.

In an elevator there is nothing to do and most times mobile phone don’t work in an elevator. So why not entertain people with a message/advertising? Make it simple, have a message handwrite on a piece of paper.

But why stop there, find a way to make your message turn upside down when the elevator goes down and up again when it goes up. Massages as prices goes down will be trusted when the elevator are on its way down. Brands that talk about higher values will be believed in the elevator when it’s moving upwards.

This will make people to talk about it. If you can get your massage as effective as an elevator pitch, then the elevator will turn into a “buzz machine” (where word of mouth spread upside down).

An elevator pitch is a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride. Wikipedia.org

Here is a short video on how to deliver an elevator pitch. Watch it then go to your nearest elevator and start practice (don’t start with your CEO).

Did read a book called “The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature,” author Professor, Steven Pinker, Department of Psychology, Harvard University.

My interpretation of his and others books is the simple fact we hum sapiens are computers. We are born with different conditions: Genes, DNA we also have different processors just like a computer. But our software’s is a self-programming and the codes done by things that happens in life, like childhood, social environment, parents, brands etc.

Prozac will develop into software in the future Today’s computers will tomorrow become biological and smarter. When they get biological we can connect with them directly so we can become ONE with technology (that will do blogging a lot more fun). When this day come there will not be any need to have millions of people in prison, for the software only need to be fixed (aggression etc). Another big problem will be hackers that will play with our reality/illusion of life. I know this is fare out, but if I am right then future will be interesting and the happiness from Prozac will be delivered as a software. I know it al sounds strange (today). But with the old saying that we only use 1% of our brains capacity, then there is 99% of your brainpower that is waiting to be discovered.

Founder and chairman of One Laptop per Child is Nicholas Negroponte a person with one of the biggest brains of our time. With this project shows his heart is as big as his brain and he masters to combine brain + heart = to success. This project is by fare the biggest evolutions step that is taken for the third world in modern time. I do hope that these steps will be understood and awarded by organizations as The Nobel Prize. So more ”brain + heart” project can help people to help them self.

The laptop is so good that when you walk in to kinder garden you will throw away your own laptop and start playing with the children’s laptop.

It is amazing how good many of tech companies are with marketing. They do develop the way advertisers work with marketing. Now are Google introducing, Google Gadget Ads. This product is in my opinion away to get the marketing people to break dance with tech geeks. They mix behavior of engage consumers with results from YouTube.com (how to make it spread etc). Google is like a good DJ, but this time I am not shore if they will fill the dance floor.

Gadget ads enable advertisers and agencies to engage audiences on the Internet’s largest ad network with a rich and interactive new ad format. Google Gadget Ads

If you like to dance with here are some “dance partners” that now how to get you moving.

Companies try to reach consumers with marketing, and then try to kill them with bad costumer service. It just doesn’t make sense, even for a marketing specialist as my friend Roland Williams. With his permission I got this letter he send to Telenor.

If the customer calls a second time, refrain from saying, “Uh… I see. Well, Technical support said that they will have it up and working in a few hours” UNLESS you can actually deliver on what you promised. If you are unable to deliver on your promise, contact the customer with a sincere apology and offer some sort of rebate or something as consolation for the temporary misfortune of being a Telenor customer. It also may curtail the emotional rage if the customer sees the expensive marketing campaign with Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein and countless other celebrity look-alikes and hears the catchy latin jingle – on the subway, in the newspaper, or between a good Woody Allen movie on television…. Perhaps you would retain a few more customers. At least you would avoid the occasional one or two who might tell their family, friends, and business associates about your definition of “Customer Service”. Roland Williams

I did send a letter to a friend that is brand manager for a mayor bank and asked him a simple question. I know that you are doing a great work building your brand. But do you know that you have a department called “costumer service” that does kill your costumers? Do you think he even responded?